Whether you call it a streaming set-top box or an "over the top" (OTT) box, Roku's little streaming media marvel is slowly ingratiating itself into more and more households. The little-black-box-that-could plays no favorites with online media choices offering Amazon VOD, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora and many more. And Roku is constantly broadening its programming choices by partnering with more and more app providers and online content services. Now, the company wants to broaden its availability to consumers as well. The streaming set-top manufacturer just announced that they are now available at Best Buy stores nationwide as well as online at BestBuy.com.
This is a very big move for Roku, who has built its business mainly on word of mouth and product reviews (like Ian White's review of the Roku XDS). Although the company says that they've sold about 1 million boxes to date, most of those sales have been through online channels. Roku started its business by selling direct to consumers, and has gradually made its way to other channels such as Amazon.
However, don't expect to find the company's trio of products on Best Buy shelves or the retailer's website -- at least not right now. The Roku XD player will be the only Roku product at Best Buy.
Right in the middle of Roku's lineup, the XD has a list price of $79.99, and features such as 1080p HD streaming (depending on your content) and built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi. Missing from the box are component video and optical audio outputs and a USB port, which are part of the company's top-end $99.99 Roku XDS model.
All Roku players provide access to services such as Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, Pandora, NBA Game Time, Flickr, Facebook, and much more. Just yesterday, Roku announced an upgrade for the Crackle channel, which now offers ad-supported full-length movies and TV shows free to all Roku box owners.
The Roku XD is now available at Best Buy. The XD, XDS and the original Roku HD ($59.99), which has built-in Wi-Fi and 720p HD streaming, are still available online through Roku, Amazon, and other participating retailers.
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